STEEP

Excerpt

IN 1972, three states, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, recognized the need to give special attention to the serious soil erosion problems in the Pacific Northwest. Each state independently submitted a project proposal to the Congress for federal funding. Similarities in the proposals prompted the Congress to ask that the three states submit a single, joint proposal. What developed was a tri-state multidisciplinary, interagency research effort termed STEEP—Solutions to Environmental and Economic Problems.

Since the initial appropriation by the Congress in 1976, STEEP has funded, in part, the work of 55 scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the three state agricultural experiment stations. The result has been a concentrated effort to seek solutions to soil erosion problems in the Pacific Northwest (1).

Why success?

Several factors are responsible for the success of STEEP. A key was the influence of producer groups in obtaining congressional funding. The continued support of those groups is maintained by using them to evaluate and monitor research progress and to identify research priorities.

The multidisciplinary approach involved in STEEP is another factor. Scientists from as many as 10 disciplines work together on joint projects. This has improved the research and demonstrated to …